“It appears it was a driver error on the part of the person turning left, in this case, the person who is now deceased,” Halskov said

He speculated that the woman misjudged the speed traffic was travelling toward her.

“The Motor Vehicle Act’s pretty clear about people turning left across traffic. They must wait until it is safe for them to proceed and if they don’t, sadly we have consequences like this that result in a fatality.”

The provincial government announced today that it is lowering speed limits on 15 sections of highway in B.C., including the Trans Canada Highway from Nanaimo to Duncan. Halskov said RCMP would have to wait for and compare data before determining if the lower speed limit would make the highway safer.

“Anytime you have a reduction in speed, you reduce the risk of injury and death where collisions are concerned…” he said. “As far as the officers out there that are working the highways, nothing really changes for us. We do what we’ve always done and we’re going to continue to enforce the posted speed limit.”